Wood Certification Demystified

In order for consumers to be assured that wood comes from well managed forests or from reclaimed sources of wood, wood products are havrvested, manufactured and sold under the supervision of various certification organizations. The following logos are used to note the type of certification of our wood products.


Without eco-certification of wood, as consumers we would not have a way of evalutaing the "green" nature of wood products that we use. So, through your understanding and request of products that are certified under the following programs, you will be supporting the growing movement and market of eco-certified wood!


Forest Stewardship Council (FSC)

FSC is an international body which accredits forest product certification organzations in order to guarantee the authenticity of their claims. It requires adherence to 10 principles to assure theat wood products come from a well managed forest. For more information, see www.fscus.org


Smartwood Certified Forestry (SCF)

A national certification organization which conducts audits, maintains chain of custody (COC) information, and accredits wood salvaging operations. Products are marketed as either FSC-certified (sustainably harvested under the FSC guidelines), or Smartwood Rediscovered (salvaged from urban blow-down, hazard tree removal, recliamed from deconstructed buildings, etc.) Fore more information, see www.smartwood.org


Healthy Forests Healthy Communities (HFHC)

HFHC is a partnership between forester, manufacturers, retailers, and community organizations, which strives to create jobs asd market products from operations that restore the land and rebuild local economies. These wood products are produced in rural communities that historically have suffered from the economic and ecological devastation of misguided forest management practices. Fore further information see www.hfhcp.org